A MAN WITHOUT FAULT

JOHN 19:1–4

Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him”

(John 19:4).

For a third time Pilate declared that he found no fault in Jesus. But what an affront to justice that this governor still sent Jesus to be scourged and ridiculed at the hands of his officers! Roman scourging in that day was no light matter. It was cruel and sometimes fatal to those inflicted by it. The whip had bone fragments or sharp metal pieces woven into it. These would tear the flesh, greatly weakening the prisoner by loss of blood.

Jesus endured this torture and more. The soldiers ridiculed His authority by dressing Him in royal purple and placing a crown of thorns upon His head. How significant that our Lord’s crown was not made of gold or silver, but of thorns—a symbol of suffering. Such is our Lord: the Suffering Servant. But soon after, the day came when that crown of thorns was replaced by a crown of splendor as our Savior and Lord was exalted above every name and seated once again at the right hand of the Father.

But before His exaltation, Jesus had to suffer. And through it all, Pilate insisted on His innocence. One must ask why this point is repealed so often. The answer is quite significant—Jesus had to be innocent in order to redeem sinners. He could not be a worthy substitute unless He had been blameless in all ways. The sinlessness of Jesus is a foundational point of Christian doctrine, and it is precisely because of this that it is so often attacked. But the Scriptures are clear, that He “who was without sin” received the judgment of and penalty for sin so that we might be saved.

Pilate was right. Jesus was a Man without fault. This can be said of no other person. He alone fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law as our representative head, and as a result, we can partake of His righteousness. He alone is the spotless Lamb, a worthy sacrifice before God, and it is only by His blood that we can come into the presence of the Holy One of Israel. Jesus died the death of a criminal, not because of any sin on His part—Pilate made this more than clear—but because of our sin, because of our rebellion, and because of our wicked disregard of God’s law. Jesus suffered at the hands of the Romans, not because of any fault within Himself but because we, who deserve death, needed Him.

CORAM DEO

Jeremiah 9–10

1 Timothy 3

Do you do nice things for people only when they deserve it? Be careful how you answer this question. Think about it for a while. Do you ever do anything for someone precisely because they do not deserve it? If Jesus died for you, even though He was innocent and you were guilty, how should that motivate you?

For further study: Rom. 5:12–21 • 2 Cor. 5:12–21 • Heb. 4:14–16

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